Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A)
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (61-65) fell to the Syracuse Mets 11-1 on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Park, as Syracuse’s offense battered starter Drake Fellows and the Lehigh Valley bullpen. Fellows took the loss, falling to 5-3 on the season after allowing seven runs on 10 hits over 4.2 innings, striking out one and walking one across 66 pitches. Syracuse jumped on him early: Mark Vientos drove in a run with a first-inning single, M.J. Melendez added another, and Ronny Mauricio doubled home a third run in the third inning. Syracuse catcher Shawn Ross then hit a two-run homer, his fourth of the season, to make it 5-0 in the fourth.
Lehigh Valley’s lone offensive highlight came in the bottom of the fourth when right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. led off with a solo home run to center field, cutting the deficit to 5-1. Syracuse answered with two more solo shots, from Mark Vientos and Billy Amick, to push the lead to 7-1, and Amick added a two-run homer off reliever Michael Mercado in the eighth for his third of the season and second of the game, extending the lead to 9-1. An RBI double by Ross and two more runs following a throwing error by third baseman Otto Kemp in the ninth completed the rout.
Reliever Ryan Cusick struck out two over 1.1 scoreless innings in relief of Fellows, and Tanner Banks, starting a rehab assignment with Lehigh Valley, worked a clean seventh inning with two strikeouts. The IronPigs finished with seven hits but went just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base while committing two errors in the loss. Syracuse starter Tobias Myers earned the win. Lehigh Valley returns to action Thursday against Syracuse, with Casey Lawrence (1-0, 6.35 ERA) starting opposite Jack Wenninger (4-7, 4.17 ERA).
Reading Fightin Phils (Double-A)
The Reading Fightin Phils (61-60) extended their winning streak to a season-best six games with a 6-2 victory over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on Wednesday at FirstEnergy Stadium, powered by three home runs. Leadoff man Bryan Rincon opened the scoring by sending the fourth pitch of the game over the left field wall for his 21st home run of the season, though Binghamton’s Eli Serrano III answered immediately with a solo shot of his own in the top of the second to tie the game. Reading regained the lead for good in the bottom of that inning: center fielder Pedro Leon, who had doubled in the first, launched a three-run homer to left field, his 13th of the year, and three batters later Aroon Escobar followed with a two-run shot of his own, a 106 mph, 435-foot blast that was his ninth homer of the season and his third in August after going homerless in July. Bryson Ware later added an insurance run on a sacrifice fly.
Starter Cody Bowker (2-0) picked up the win, allowing a run in the second inning before retiring the final seven batters he faced. In his second start with Reading, Bowker worked five innings, scattering three hits with one walk and four strikeouts, and carries an ERA of 1.80 through two outings with the club. The Reading bullpen was excellent behind him: Mavis Graves struck out two of three batters faced, extending his scoreless streak to eight straight outings and lowering his ERA to 1.54, while Wen-Hui Pan and Christian McGowan combined to close out the final three innings, with Binghamton center fielder John Bay‘s solo homer in the seventh the only run allowed. In all, the Reading bullpen worked four innings, allowing just one hit with five strikeouts and no walks.
The win pushed Reading’s Eastern League lead to 3.5 games over Somerset and 4.5 games over Binghamton with 16 games remaining in the regular season. Reading hosts Binghamton again Thursday, with Jean Cabrera starting for the Fightins.
Jersey Shore BlueClaws (High-A)
The Jersey Shore BlueClaws fell 11-6 to the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Wednesday night at ShoreTown Ballpark, dropping their seventh game in the last eight on a 12-game homestand and their 16th in the last 20 games overall. Jersey Shore had won Tuesday’s series opener but could not carry that momentum into game two. The BlueClaws jumped ahead in the first inning on a two-run, two-out single from Devin Saltiban, but Wilmington answered with two runs of their own in the second inning on a two-run double from Nate Rombach to tie the score.
The game turned in the fourth inning, when Wilmington sent a parade of hitters to the plate and scored six runs to take control. Eli Willits broke the tie with an RBI single, Yeremy Cabrera followed with a two-run triple, and Teo Banks added an RBI single, with two more runs coming around on a balk and a throwing error. Jersey Shore answered with a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning on a Saltiban double and a run-scoring groundout from Kodey Shojinaga, but the deficit remained large. The BlueClaws rallied late, scoring three runs in the eighth to cut the deficit to 9-6 on a bases-loaded walk to Saltiban, a run-scoring groundout from Shojinaga, and an RBI single from Scott Mudler. Wilmington answered in the ninth, however, as Eli Willits added an RBI triple as part of a two-run frame to restore a five-run cushion and seal the final margin.
On the mound, BlueClaws opener Titan Kennedy-Hayes worked two innings before turning things over to the bullpen, and Gerardo Lopez impressed in his BlueClaws debut after arriving from Clearwater, tossing three scoreless innings and allowing just one walk. Devin Saltiban led the Jersey Shore offense with two hits and three RBI in the loss. Jersey Shore continues the series against Wilmington on Thursday with Ryan Dromboski starting opposite Miguel Sime Jr.
Clearwater Threshers (Single-A) — Game Suspended
Wednesday night’s game between the Clearwater Threshers and the Lakeland Flying Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium was suspended due to heavy rain and wet grounds following the top of the fourth inning, with Clearwater trailing 3-0.
The suspended game will resume and be completed as part of a Thursday, August 27 doubleheader. Game one will pick up in the bottom of the fourth inning and play out to a full nine innings. Game two will be a seven-inning contest.
Home Runs — August 26, 2026
Lehigh Valley – Gabriel Rincones Jr. (2)
Reading – Bryan Rincon (21)
Reading – Pedro Leon (13)
Reading – Aroon Escobar (9)
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